Ustream Blogs

Monthly Archives: February 2008

Last night I had the honor to attend the Fort Worth Senator Barack Obama Rally as a special guest to the Obama Campaign. For those of you who don’t know, Sen. Obama is a Ustreamer!

As I hung out with the Obama guys while they set up the live feed, people flooded into the Fort Worth Convention center for a look at the man who man be the next president. The energy was amazing, the crowds were massive, and the anticipation was palpable. Now I have watched several of these Obama streams on Ustream over the last few months and also been impressed with the Senator’s speeches (for the record I’m not endorsing either party as we work closely as well with the Republicans). But being there live made we so proud of Ustream as I knew thousands of people around the world had to chance to watch the speech with me in Texas.

Whoever you will be supporting (looks like it will be Obama and McCain…McCain is also a Ustreamer), just make sure you support someone! Remember its our civic duty to vote..

Ustream.TV Powers Veoh Networks’ New ‘Viral LIVE’ to Take Viewers Behind the Scenes of Their Favorite Internet TV Shows

Monthly Series to Feature Exclusive, Interactive Interviews with the Producers, Casts and Characters from Today’s Most Popular Internet TV Productions

I’m pleased to announce a joint effort between Ustream.TV and Internet Television leader, Veoh Networks, to bring fans closer to their favorite Internet TV productions through Veoh’s new Web series, “Viral LIVE.” Viral LIVE is a live monthly program that gives Veoh and Ustream viewers an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at some of the most popular Internet shows, producers, casts and characters. Hosted by Veoh’s resident content guru, Sunny Gault, Viral LIVE will kick-off tomorrow (Thurs) at 2:00 pm PST with the producers and cast of CBS’ hit web series, “Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side II.”

Viewers can log into the Viral LIVE channel on Veoh at www.veoh.com/virallive or the Ustream.TV site at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/virallive to watch the live broadcast from Universal Studios, where CBS’ Ghost Whisperer is taped. Todmorrow’s show will feature interactive interviews with Ian Sander and Kim Moses – the executive producers of both the television and Internet series – as well as four of the main cast members from Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side II. Viewers can use the Viral LIVE chat function to ask the producers and cast questions and chat live with other Ghost Whisperer fans.

“Working with Ustream.TV, we can provide our viewers with the unique opportunity to ‘visit’ the sets of their favorite Internet TV shows and interact in real-time with the characters, producers and others involved in these productions,” said Annie Morita, Vice President of Marketing for Veoh Networks. “Without the power of live video on the Web, this type of access would not be possible..”

Live video broadcasting on the Web brings a fresh element to the world of entertainment and innovative companies like Veoh that are embracing the live video medium are giving their users more options for personalizing their online viewing experiences, while providing new ways for them to get involved every time they tune in.

Last night, a contingent of the Ustream.TV team was lucky enough to visit the Digg offices in San Francisco to set up the live stream for their first townhall. The blogsphere was buzzing up a blizzard for this momentous occasion, and sure enough, over 8,000 unique viewers (with up to 2,300 concurrent viewers) tuned in live for Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson’s hour+ session. Watch the archived replay here:

Kevin and Jay ran through the top 20 “dugg” questions, as submitted and voted by Diggers specifically for this event. They certainly didn’t shy away from any of the questions, announcing plenty of exciting upcoming product launches, readily acknowledging current shortcomings, and directly addressing (and debunking) the “blacklist” and auto-bury” rumors that had been flying around.

While there were plenty of product specific answers, I was personally fascinated by Kevin and Jay’s anecdotes harkening back to the (relatively) early days of the company. According to Kevin himself, it wasn’t too long ago that he was personally staying up late, trolling submissions for spam and other unacceptable content. Brad and I can certainly recount parallels to Ustream, perhaps with an even fresher memory. It is interactive townhalls like these that remind us that the websites we all know and love is not just an impersonal interface, but a construction of hardworking human beings doing their best to serve their diverse, passionate community.

I should also mention that Kevin and Jay make for an entertaining pair, even as they maneuvered through the technical minutiae of product development and user experience. We certainly look forward to more of Jay and Kevin on live broadcast!

Rest assured, Jay, Kevin and the rest of the Digg team have plenty more townhalls and meetups in store. Be sure to visit http://digg.com/townhallfor updates and video archives.

On Monday night, February 25th, the first ever Digg Town Hall will take place. Starting at 6pm (PST) Kevin Rose (Founder) and Jay Adelson (CEO) from Digg will be streaming live with Ustream.tv in order to interact, discuss, and hang out with their members. Honestly, as an avid Digg user and a huge fan, and employee, of Ustream, this is especially exciting. If there was ever a recipe for success – its Digg + Ustream.

The reason I am, and most people are exited about Ustream, is the fact that it enables you to interact in real time with your viewers. This is neither prerecorded media with its delayed feedback, or live television. Ustream is somewhere in between – its a place where you can broadcast to thousands of people but at the same time get instant feedback from anyone watching. Digg has found a way to use this in a creative way. Digg users wanted to be more involved and the employees wanted input – Ustream was the answer. The Town Hall is the missing link between all who love Digg and want to improve it. Using live video and the chat room, Digg is on a quest to connect with their users and create an open environment where there is a free flow of information – very exciting stuff.

It is such an honor to partner with them and make this all possible – We look forward to streaming this Town Hall and the many more to come.

You can take it from me: the Ustream.TV team LOVES it when we catch educators and students finding creative ways to utilize the platform. Thanks to Ustreamer Xamas , the team celebrated a particularly unique, self-referential milestone in Ustream.TV academic content.

Ohio State University Ustreamer Bryant Kubik entered Ustream.TV as a topic in the hallowed halls of academic discourse with his superb Communication 101 presentation, “The Future of Television”. Bryant’s all-encompassing profile of Ustream and broadcast media is so comprehensive and on point, that I’m tempted to appropriate his video for all future Ustream.TV marketing purposes! Watch Bryant’s recorded video here.

Bryant is a junior majoring in communications at Ohio State University, which he will parlay into a career in television or radio. Visit his Ustream.TV profile, code name: Xamas, and you’ll see he’s got a big head start!

Bryant not only outlined paradigm-shifting abstracts of live broadcasting and real-time interaction in his presentation, but made it real by securing the live participation of Ustream star Jody Gnant. No doubt, professor Prabu David’s class felt the “in-the-moment” magic of Bryant’s cutting-edge, anything-but-ordinary presentation.

Be sure to leave Bryant positive comments — and perhaps a grade — for a job well done!

Nothing is more boring that a Lunar Eclipse. You spend hours staring at a somewhat normal moon, your legs get tired, and whatever previous excitement you may have had quickly dwindles leaving you with nothing but strained eyes.

Yet…a Lunar Eclipse is still pretty sweet. The sheer fact that it is rare makes it awesome.

So, its February 20th, the night of the eclipse. At around 6:30 pm (pst) I jump out of my chair and alert everyone within shouting distance that its time to go watch the eclipse. No response. In a second attempt to gain some followers I explain that its the last complete Lunar Eclipse until 2010 and finally, among grumbles and sighs, but still some inevitable curiosity – I successfully lead everyone outside…Only to find that its cloudy.

Great.

In defeat I sat back down to my computer, blindly browsing my internet haunts. Huge success! Low and behold, someone on Ustream, in non-cloudy-Florida, was streaming the Lunar Eclipse. As I sat watching the moon slowly go dark, I enjoyed a lively chat with other viewers from all over the world. We were happy as could be.

I was completely glued to my seat for over an hour watching something that I found extremely boring. I’m not sure if it was the fact that I needed to see the moon go completely dark before I’d be satisfied, or if it was the crazy conversations I was involved in with the other viewers. Random people shouting “GOOD NIGHT MOOOON!”, “MOON! SHOE ON HEAD”, and the occasional babbling of a learned astronomer created such an entertaining and friendly environment that I couldn’t leave. Although I wasn’t the one streaming, I felt involved.

I think its safe to say that, along with the thousands of other viewers who watched the Lunar Eclipse on Ustream, this random Ustreamer made my night.

Time is running out to get in your votes (you can vote everyday!) for Ustream.TV in the People’s Choice Awards, as voted-in by YOU.

Simply click here to vote: http://sxsw.com/peoples_choice . You can vote up to once a day per email address until March 3, so don’t be shy about setting yourself up a daily reminder. We actually have a great chance at winning the People Choice Awards, precisely because of our devoted and growing community of Ustreamers and viewers like you.

When you enter the voting area be sure to look for Ustream.TV under the FILM/TV Category, as indexed on the right column. Help spread the good word; tell a friend, tell a viewer, tell an audience.

The judges had their say — now it’s your turn! Sign up to vote daily for your favorite finalists from this year’s SXSW Web Awards competition. Don’t miss your chance to vote once daily until midnight on Monday, March 3.

This highly-entertaining evening includes the Web Awards Pre-Party, plenty of industry peers and emcee Eugene Mirman. Register now for a SXSW Interactive, Gold or Platinum badge to be part of this exciting event.

Thousands of students around the world today tuned in to listen to Pulitzer Prize Winning Author David McCullough speak live about our nation’s first President and Commander In Chief, George Washington.

This live interactive lesson was produced in partnership with Ustream.TV, The History Channel, Verizon, Consource.org, and the NY Historical Society.

During the live stream, Mr. McCullough, taught a nationwide audience of students about George Washington using documents newly accessible on ConSource.org. Students online participated in the live webcast through the Ustream chat room and were able to ask questions of Mr. McCullough from anywhere in the world.

We have seen a surge of education training, lessons, and projects on Ustream over the last few months, most recently was the EduCon Conference from Philadelphia.

First, the good news: Ustream.TV has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious SXSW Web Awards! We have all been nominated in the TV/Film category, the winner of which will be selected by a panel of SXSW judges, and announced at the Ceremony March 9, 2008. The nomination is in no small part because of the great content produced by our lovely and talented Ustreamers!

That’s the good news. Here’s the GREAT news:

As a finalist, Ustream.TV also qualifies for the People’s Choice Awards, as voted-in by YOU. Simply click here to vote: http://sxsw.com/peoples_choice . You can vote up to once a day per email address until March 3, so don’t be shy about setting yourself up a daily reminder. We actually have a great chance at winning the People Choice Awards, precisely because of our devoted and growing community of Ustreamers and viewers like you.

When you enter the voting area be sure to look for Ustream.TV under the FILM/TV Category, as indexed on the right column like so:

The judges had their say — now it’s your turn! Sign up to vote daily for your favorite finalists from this year’s SXSW Web Awards competition. Don’t miss your chance to vote once daily until midnight on Monday, March 3.

The Constitutional Sources Project, the only free, fully-indexed online library of Constitutional sources, is partnering with the History Channel, the New York Historical Society, Ustream and Verizon Thinkfinity in hosting an online President’s Day event with David McCullough February 13, 2008 webcast at http://ustream.tv/channel/david-mccullough—george-washington-presentation from 2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT. This event will mark the addition of approximately 20,000 letters, speeches, and other documents written to and from George Washington in raw format to ConSource and the launch of a new public proofreading tool.

During the live stream, David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, will teach a nationwide audience of students about George Washington using documents newly accessible on ConSource.org. Any student who participates in the live webcast will be able to ask questions of Mr. McCullough. The recorded stream will be permanently available at www.ConSource.org, and will also be available on Verizon’s Thinkfinity website.

The New York Historical Society will play physical host for the event, to which high school students from the Academy of American Studies and the High School of American Studies in the New York area will attend. Ustream.tv will provide streaming technology for the live stream, while the History Channel will video and sponsor the event and provide free George Washington footage for participating teachers. Verizon’s Thinkfinity will sponsor the event and provide teachers lesson plan materials through its partners.

“We are pleased to partner with these organizations and to host David McCullough in creating another opportunity for students to interact with the Constitution,” said Lorianne Updike, President and Executive Director of ConSource.org. “This event represents a significant step in providing the public free access to all of our Founders’ documents which created the Constitution.”

To watch the webcast with David McCullough on February 13, or to review the documents that David McCullough will teach with, the lesson plan materials provided by Verizon and its partners, or the George Washington video clips provided by the History Channel, go to www.ConSource.org.

About The Constitutional Sources Project

Founded in May of 2005, The Constitutional Sources Project launched the only free fully-indexed online library of Constitution sources for “We the People” at www.ConSource.org on September 17, 2007. This new medium will give the Founders, Reconstructionists, and original Feminists voices in the classroom and courtroom, providing everyone from the sixth grader to the Supreme Court justice with the best history of the Constitution. Current collections include James Madison’s handwritten notes of the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist Papers, the Anti and Pro-Federalist Papers, state ratification debates for seven states, and the Bill of Rights’ legislative history.